Smart robot GIGAS could help address agricultural labour shortages

The latest iteration of Guelph Intelligent Greenhouse Automation System (GIGAS), a smart robot developed at The Robotics Institute @ Guelph, harvests tomatoes using AI-powered vision and an innovative gripping system. It uses deep learning and an image database to identify the tomato amidst environmental obstacles and to figure out how to grab it from the vine.

The U of G-developed technology was recently showcased to Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Ontario Minister of Colleges and Universities Jill Dunlop who heard how GIGAS’s automation power could soon support difficult greenhouse working conditions and agricultural labour shortages.

Over 10 years, Dr. Medhat Moussa and more than 20 U of G students have worked on GIGAS. Recently graduated master’s students have just honed its innovative gripping system.

The robot's development has been funded by the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance, Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE), Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, and the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC).

Read the full story on the U of G News site: Meet GIGAS, the U of G Robot Using AI to Pick Tomatoes